The Black Caps have wrapped up a comprehensive innings and 79 run victory over Ireland at Stormont in Belfast, with batter Tom Blundell scoring 186 and bowler Nathan Smith claiming six wickets for 40 in the one off test. The result gives Tom Latham’s side a hefty dose of confidence before they head to Lord’s next week for the first of three tests against England.
The win was not as easy as the final scoreline suggests. Batting first on a grassy Stormont surface, the Black Caps slumped to 86 for four inside the opening 23 overs, with the Irish seamers exploiting overhead cloud and a lively pitch. It was the kind of start that has haunted the New Zealand top order in recent away tours, and the early loss of openers and the number three set the tone for a tough first session.
Blundell walked to the middle with the tourists in trouble and stayed there for more than a day. He combined with Rachin Ravindra for a 217 run partnership that rebuilt the innings and ground the home attack down. By stumps on day two the Black Caps were well clear of any danger, and Latham eventually declared on 490 for eight to give his bowlers time to attack.
Blundell’s 186 was his second highest test score, played at a measured tempo across more than seven hours at the crease. He drove crisply through the covers, worked the ball off his pads with the soft hands that have become his trademark, and dug in against the short ball when Ireland turned to the bouncer barrage. Ravindra played the supporting role, threading boundaries through point and cover before falling for a fluent 96 just short of a fifth test century.
“We were put under pressure on that first day, to be four down reasonably early with not many on the board,” Latham said after the match. “The introduction of Tom absorbed quite a lot of pressure, and be able to put it back on them and form a really good partnership, over 200,” he told RNZ.
When Ireland began their reply, Nathan Smith took over the match. The Wellington allrounder, picked ahead of more senior seamers for this trip, produced one of the best bowling performances of his short test career to that point. His six for 40 included three top order wickets in a single spell on the second evening, when reverse swing began to bite under the floodlights. He found the edge from a length, knocked over a stump with one that nipped back, and trapped the Ireland captain plumb in front of middle.
Ireland were bowled out for 179 in their first innings, conceding a deficit of 311. Latham enforced the follow on and asked his bowlers to do it all over again. The hosts fought harder the second time around and reached 232, but never threatened to make the New Zealanders bat a second time. Smith picked up further wickets in the second innings, Will O’Rourke provided pace and bounce from the other end, and the spinners chipped in to finish the job before lunch on the final day.
It is the first time the Black Caps have played a test in Ireland, and the visit was about more than just the result. Ireland were granted full test status in 2017 and have only a handful of senior players still standing from that founding generation. A New Zealand tour was always going to be a step up in class for the home side. Even so, the Irish bowled with discipline on the first morning and the surface offered plenty for anyone willing to put the ball in the right area.
For New Zealand, the value of the match was as much about hardening up before the England series as it was about taking a winner’s bonus. Several players have come straight off the white ball tour of Pakistan and into red ball cricket with very few preparation matches. Latham was clear that the time in the middle was the real prize. “Nothing can replicate time on the park and backing days up, so it was a really good test match for us,” he said. “We’ll take a little bit of confidence from that into what we’ve got coming up in a couple of weeks, but really pleased.”
The Black Caps now fly across to London for a short turnaround before the first test against England at Lord’s. England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have made a habit of high scoring shootouts at home, and Lord’s in early June tends to reward seam bowlers who hit a length. New Zealand will want Blundell to back up his Belfast innings, want Ravindra to convert his next start into a hundred, and will hope Smith can keep his form going against a far stronger top order. Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson are all in the squad and will be pushing for a slot.
Ireland’s series against New Zealand was a stand alone test rather than part of the World Test Championship cycle, so the result does not affect the standings. It still counts as a marker for both sides. The Black Caps left Stormont with a win, a hundred for their most reliable middle order batter, a six wicket haul for a young allrounder, and a clear sense that the top order still has work to do if they want to compete at Lord’s.
How are you feeling about the Black Caps heading into Lord’s, and is Tom Blundell now an automatic pick at six for the Test summer ahead? Leave a comment below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job π
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